To buy a dealer demo?

[rockymountainpenguin]

I am interested in buyin a Cooper S however I'm not too keen on the 1 year waiting list here in Colorado, as a matter of fact im not too keen on waiting at all (cuz i need a car). SO! if you were in this predicament, if the car was a color that wasn't bad, but not what you wanted (white as opposed to midnight blue), based soley on the fact that it is a demonstration car, would you buy it?

[EBMCS03]

No... buy out of state... wait is lot less and at MSRP... and u get to pick your own color/combo... or look into used cars maybe even out of state used cars... Demos are eh... driven too badly...

[AprilWhine]

Eric is right, check the thread from MOTH, MINIs of the Hamptons. I believe they even pay for your shipping, and only charge MSRP.

People tend to flog a demo.

[MukiMunki]

I'd agree - demos get driven hard from cold, aren't broken in properly, and are driven a lot by people who aren't used to the car so eg in a manual the clutch and gearbox will have taken a lot of hammer.

They quite often have a high spec however, and will still be covered by warranty.

Hope this helps!

[raider2]

Well mine was a Demo, had 250 miles on it and was driven by the Vice Pres of the dealership. Warranty is adjusted for the miles YOU drive the car. Although it was the color I wanted and had every package availible and was less than MSRP. So while in some ways I agree with the others it really depends on how much of a trade-off you are will ing to make.

[EBMCS03]

Quote: Originally Posted by raider2

Well mine was a Demo, had 250 miles on it and was driven by the Vice Pres of the dealership. Warranty is adjusted for the miles YOU drive the car. Although it was the color I wanted and had every package availible and was less than MSRP. So while in some ways I agree with the others it really depends on how much of a trade-off you are will ing to make.

see yours was driven by the vice pres... thats different than a floor demo for people to come in and drive hard everyday...

[stryder]

Here's my story on Demo cars. I test drove an MCS, (this was back in March '02) the car had been at the dealership less then a week, since MINIs had just started to be sold. It had about 200 miles on the clock. I turned out of the driveway of the dealership, and floored it, shifting at redline. The salesperson didn't even flinch. I then went around a few corners, pushing until the tires started to squeal. Nothing from salesguy. I probably drove 10 miles on the test drive in about 15 minutes.

You get the feeling a good percentage of people did the same, or else someone might have said something. So you buy a demo car with 1000 miles, (a real demo, the VP car is totally different as EB has said), that means possiby 100 people have driven the car, and many of them thrashed it just the same.

Do I regret not treating the demo nicely? No, because if I waited until it warmed up, the test drive would have been over, and the point was to drive the car, and see what it was like. With that in mind, you should realize that's how demos are expected to be treated, and thus buying one, is a very bad idea, unless you expect to get rid of it before the warranty expires, and are willing to deal with any problems that may creep up from poor early treatment, to save however much the discount is.

[shedend]

I agree with the above, however my wife bought a demo Citroen Xsara VTS Coupe (as we were getting a good deal and the model is rare in the UK) and it has been 100% okay - guess sometime it is just down to luck - but then agin if you get a good warrenty with it....

[EBMCS03]

Quote: Originally Posted by shedend

I agree with the above, however my wife bought a demo Citroen Xsara VTS Coupe (as we were getting a good deal and the model is rare in the UK) and it has been 100% okay - guess sometime it is just down to luck - but then agin if you get a good warrenty with it....

When people go test drive Citroens do they flog them as they would a MINI? I have no idea since we dont get them here in the states...

I mean if you got a toyota camry demo it would prob be fine cuz people who test drive them wont push it hard... so its very car dependent...

[rockymountainpenguin]

haha well i have been reassured that it wont come to me buying a demo car now....i just might be getting a cooper and not an S, input on this....well ill start a thread......later.. but thank you all yous!!

[stryder]

The Cooper vs. S has been discussed a lot as well recently. Check out this thread for instance: http://www.mini2.com/forum/general-discussion/61835-mini-cooper-mini-cooper-s.html it might answer some of your questions quickly.

[sequence]

RM Pengy: If you drive Schomp demos like I do, you wouldn't want to buy one. I'm very hard on them. After all, I need to KNOW, man!

Another alternative close by: Try out Jackie Cooper MINI in Oklahoma City--10-12 weeks from order to delivery, no wait list, $1K deposit, MSRP + $159 doc fee that includes your trip permit to drive back to CO, good people. If I wasn't ordering my MCS July 1 (been waiting since Dec) I'd go this route. Jimbo

PS JC MINI also had at least 20 MC's and 2 MCS's on the lot (as of June 12) ready for sale, all at MSRP, some with dealer stuff, most not.